Branded-content disclosure: what the FTC actually requires from creators

Last verified against FTC guidance: August 7, 2026. The FTC's practical brochure on this topic is dated November 2019; the underlying Endorsement Guides were revised effective July 26, 2023. Both are cited below with their own dates.

This isn't a platform's content policy — it's federal law. The FTC enforces disclosure of paid and gifted brand relationships under its authority over deceptive advertising, separately from whatever Meta, TikTok, or any other platform's branded-content rules say. A post can follow every platform guideline and still violate FTC disclosure requirements, because the two are different obligations enforced by different bodies.

This page covers what the FTC's own published guidance states about when and how creators must disclose. It is not legal advice, and it's not a complete account of every edge case — the FTC's own FAQ document, linked below, goes deeper on specific scenarios. It does not cover platform-specific branded-content tools in detail, non-U.S. disclosure regimes, or FTC enforcement actions and settlements, which are their own body of precedent beyond what's stated here.

When disclosure is required

The FTC's guidance states you should disclose "when you have any financial, employment, personal, or family relationship with a brand" (FTC, Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, retrieved 2026-08-07). That's broader than a paid sponsorship. Specifically, the guidance states:

• "Financial relationships aren't limited to money" — free or discounted products or "anything of value" you got to mention a product triggers the same disclosure obligation.
• If a brand gives you something and you later mention its product, disclose it "even if you weren't asked to mention that product."
• Don't assume your audience already knows about your brand relationships, and disclose "even if you think your evaluations are unbiased."
• Tags, likes, and pins showing you like a brand or product "can be endorsements" — the disclosure obligation isn't limited to a written recommendation.
• The guidance states U.S. law can apply even to posts made from abroad, "if it's reasonably foreseeable that the post will affect U.S. consumers."

One explicit exception: if you have no brand relationship at all and you're simply telling people about something you bought and happen to like, the FTC's guidance states you don't need to disclose that you have no relationship.

How to disclose

The FTC's guidance is specific about placement and wording, not just the fact of disclosure:

• Placement. The disclosure "should be placed with the endorsement message itself." The guidance states disclosures are likely to be missed if they appear only on an About Me or profile page, at the end of a long post or video, or anywhere that requires a click to "MORE" to find them.
• Video and live content. For video, the disclosure "should be in the video and not just in the description," since viewers may watch without sound or skip the description. For live streams, the guidance states the disclosure "should be repeated periodically" so viewers who catch only part of the stream still see it.
• Wording. Simple language is enough — the guidance names "Thanks to Acme brand for the free product," or simply "advertisement," "ad," or "sponsored," as sufficient if placed where it's hard to miss. A hashtag like #ad or #sponsored is explicitly called "fine (but not necessary)." The guidance separately says not to use vague terms like "sp," "spon," "collab," or a stand-alone "thanks" or "ambassador."
• Platform disclosure tools. The FTC's guidance states: "Don't assume that a platform's disclosure tool is good enough, but consider using it in addition to your own, good disclosure." The 2023 revised Endorsement Guides reinforce this directly — among the changes announced was adding a definition of "clear and conspicuous" and stating that a platform's built-in disclosure tool "might not be an adequate disclosure" on its own (FTC, press release announcing the 2023 revised Endorsement Guides, retrieved 2026-08-07).

What else the FTC's guidance states

• You can't describe experience with a product you haven't actually tried.
• If you were paid to talk about a product and thought it was terrible, the guidance states you can't say it's terrific.
• You can't make claims about a product that would require proof the advertiser doesn't have — the guidance's own example is claiming scientific proof that a product treats a health condition.

Why this is a different obligation than platform policy

Meta and TikTok each have their own branded-content disclosure tools and policies, and using them is good practice — but they exist to serve the platform's own advertising rules, not to satisfy federal law on your behalf. The FTC's guidance states plainly that its disclosure requirements come from the agency's authority to stop deceptive advertising, and that the current Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) were revised effective July 26, 2023 specifically to address how advertisers and endorsers reach consumers today, including through social media (FTC, press release announcing the 2023 revised Endorsement Guides, retrieved 2026-08-07). A platform approving your post and the FTC considering your disclosure adequate are two separate questions, decided by two separate parties.

How Check fits in

This is the one area where Cutsheet's Check has the least to offer, and it's worth saying plainly. Check reviews one uploaded image or video — visible text and, for video, spoken audio and on-screen text — and returns a hook/clarity/CTA/production assessment. It has no way to know whether you have a material connection to a brand, whether you were paid or given a product, or whether a disclosure it can see meets the FTC's "clear and conspicuous" standard for placement and wording. Disclosure compliance depends on facts about your relationship with a brand that no creative-review tool can observe from the file itself. If your content involves a brand relationship, the FTC's own guidance — linked below — is the source to check, not any automated tool, including this one.

Sources

• FTC, Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers — FTC staff brochure dated November 2019, retrieved August 7, 2026. Supports: when disclosure is required, placement and wording guidance, platform-tool caveat, what-not-to-claim rules.
• FTC, press release announcing the 2023 revised Endorsement Guides — retrieved August 7, 2026. Supports: "clear and conspicuous" definition addition, platform-disclosure-tool-may-not-be-adequate statement, endorsement definition covering tags.
• Federal Register, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255, document 2023-14795) — retrieved August 7, 2026. Supports: July 26, 2023 effective date, direct primary-source citation for the revised Guides as a final rule.
• FTC, Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking — for deeper, scenario-specific guidance beyond what's summarized on this page.